Saturday, March 28, 2009

Friday Adventure

Row Row Row Your Boat…Yikes

Friday was our travel day to Egypt. There weren’t many pictures taken Friday. It began with an unfriendly taxi driver who I think overcharged us. He asked if he could smoke during our brief ride to the ferry. I (Steve) told him if he wanted to smoke it would be a lower price for the ride… he put down his lighter.

We took the “fast” ferry over to Nuweiba, Egypt. After leaving about an hour and a half late, we didn’t find it to be fast at all. We made friends with an American named Rick who was traveling alone. He was good company for the frustrating journey.

After getting off the boat with documents in hand, we did not see our driver who was sent by our hotel. It was nerve racking when we saw each bus load up and found ourselves standing almost alone. One bus however was only taking travelers from the port to the customs area. We were halted at the gate and more authorities were brought in. Beyond the customs gate, we could see a driver holding a sign with our names on it. Our driver was called to the gate and questioned. We don’t know Arabic, but it was clear that our driver was getting a lashing for being associated with us. We needed more documentation and paperwork.

We were finally allowed to exit with the condition that we go to the Tourist Police office. When we finally arrived at the office in the most random place, our driver came out shaking his head. He paid the officer the equivalence of $10 US so we would not have to wait a couple hours for paperwork. Finally we were on our way. We found out that the port we entered is nervous about Americans. Our driver was amazing and we don’t know what we would have done without him. We are glad we arranged this in advance with the hotel.

When we arrived at Le Meridien Resort in Dahab, it put all of our stress and anxiety to rest. The service and amenities are AMAZING. When the sun rose over the Red Sea, the place was amazing.

Don’t worry, we are safe and fine. What we thought would be a seamless day became chaos from the start. More to follow.

1 comment:

Oh boy! Thanks for the update and that you are both safe. The angels were with you on that ride. It amazes me how your ennocence winds you guys up with the athorities in the different countries you guys visit. Remember Russia? Now Egypt. Sounds like a real experience again and you met a good friend or two. Will be waiting to hear the continuation of this story. Stay safe!Love Mom and FMIL